Plein & Simple with John Burton, Part 8: Design & Composition

To award-winning plein air painter, John Burton, the gestation cycle of a painting starts with drawing, then value, then color. However, at every stage of this process, he considers design and composition--the contrast, value structure, shapes, even the brushstrokes! In Part 8 of this mini series, John explains what goes into the outstanding design and composition of a painting.

ENVIRONMENT AND LIGHT

JOHN BURTON

BOBBY CHIU

[GRAJDEANU.]

Thank you Bobby for these mini lessons and insights form other great artists.
It was great listening to John Burton, especially like the part with symbols and representations. Also the report analogy.

Contrast is a great tool for many parts of designs. It creates interest and different energy balancing.
The way I approach composition is from the idea of what information I need to deliver and how I want the audience to feel and perceive the scene. And yes it is good to know the ‘rules’ because it gives you the insight with which you can use and bend them as you need to reach your goal.

[denissepadron]

Composition has always been a struggle for me so it was very nice for a great painter to explain his concept of it!!😊

[Beanie]

I really appreciate these mini sneak peeks into your other classes. Despite having access to the entire selection, I sometimes pigeon hole myself into a handful of classes (absorbing the lessons can require multiple watches for me). I'll definitely look into Environment and Light!

[brandonrobbins]

What's an acceptable-free way of posing a question towards you?